Lorence Kim
Co-Founder and Managing
Partner of Ascenta Capital
Lorence Kim, MD is the co-founder and a Managing Partner of Ascenta Capital, together with Evan Rachlin.
Lorence was previously a Venture Partner at Third Rock Ventures from 2020 to 2022. He served as the Chief Financial Officer of Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) from 2014 to 2020, raising $4 billion for the company and deploying resources to discover and advance a pipeline of 24 development candidates across infectious disease, oncology, rare disease and autoimmune disease, including the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. As of his departure, Moderna had raised the three largest private financing rounds, the largest IPO, and the largest follow-on offering in biotech history. Dr. Kim joined Moderna after an investment banking career at Goldman Sachs from 2000 to 2014, where he was a managing director and co-head of the U.S. biotechnology investment banking effort. Dr. Kim’s responsibilities included corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions for the biotechnology industry, with several billion in equity and equity-linked financings, and more than $55 billion in M&A transactions.
Lorence currently serves on the board of directors of Ascenta portfolio companies ADARx Pharmaceuticals, a biotech focused on RNA-targeting therapeutics, and Odyssey Therapeutics, a biotech pioneering next-generation precision autoimmune and oncology medicines. He also serves on the board of directors of Revolution Medicines (NASDAQ: RVMD), Cencora (NYSE: COR), Flare Therapeutics, Abata Therapeutics, the American Red Cross, and Prep for Prep. He previously served on the board of Cowen (NASDAQ: COWN) and Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MCRB).
Lorence graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with an A.B. in biochemical sciences. He earned an M.B.A. in healthcare management as a Palmer Scholar from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an MD from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine.